The United States attempts to rescue the American hostages held in Iran but fails.

Voyager I, a NASA probe, explores Saturn.

Iraq launches an air strike and begins the 8-year Iran-Iraqi War.

Ted Turner launches CNN, which will air news 24 hours a day on cable television.

In movies, Ordinary People wins Best Picture, Best Director for Robert Redford, and Best Supporting Actor for Timothy Hutton at the Academy Awards. Robert DeNiro walks away with Best Actor for Raging Bull, a film by Martin Scorsese.

After Lech Walesa leads a strike by shipyard workers, Poland's Solidarity Party becomes an independent labor union, the first in the sphere of Soviet influence.

Yugoslavian President Tito dies, leading to a power struggle in this liberal Communist state.

In Washington, Mount St. Helens erupts.

The United States and 57 other countries boycott the Moscow summer Olympics in protest of Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.

Cigarette sales exceed $600 billion. Although smoking among adults has declined, it has been on the rise for teenage girls.

Republican Ronald Reagan, former actor and California governor, is elected president of the United States, ousting incumbent Jimmy Carter. Inflation is running at double-digits, and gas is around $1.20/gallon. To combat the recession, Reagan has developed an election platform based on supply-side economics.

Music legend John Lennon is shot in New York City.